


Cherry Ice

by dkthunderIV



Series: Road Trip Before it All Goes To Shit [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Hospitals, Injury, M/M, Popsicles, Two Goofs In Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 01:32:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7132673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkthunderIV/pseuds/dkthunderIV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Do you ever wonder how Reyes got that scar on his lip? After a good night, Gabriel scares the shit out of Jack and busts his lip in the bed of his truck. Stupidly having no medical supplies or training, Jack has to make a four AM detour to the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cherry Ice

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of a series, if you'll note. you don't need context for this, but it might improve the read if you start at the first part!

The rain stopped at some undefinable point in the night. Howling wind passes over the car, but Gabe and Jack were dead asleep for most of the night, curled up close in their nest of sleeping bags.

At one point early the next morning, Jack shifts languidly, half awake, mushing his cheek against lover’s scraggly facial hair. Gabe chuckles, deep and breathy, vibrating pleasantly through their intertwined bodies. He peppers kisses all over Jack’s face, not sure whether he wants to wake up or not.

“… You are so damn handsome,” he murmurs into Jack’s hair with a pleased sigh. Jack curls his hands tighter around Gabe’s waist, and presses a kiss into the crook of his neck.

“Kiss me,” he asks, flopping onto his back. That draws another laugh out of Gabe, who wordlessly acquiesces, slowly rolling over to keep their chests flush.

He sucks on Jack’s lower lip, worrying it between his teeth. Too tired to start biting, he lazily presses his tongue against his lover’s lips, asking for entrance.

While they make out, Gabe gradually straightens his back and sits up. He doesn’t notice just how close his head is to the cab window, and how much closer he gets to it the more he rises. Jack’s hand slides down from his hip to his ass and grips, making Gabe break the kiss to gasp. His head flies up too fast, and he slams his head into the window sill with pained cry. On the downswing, he slams his face into the window sill, dragging a long cut from his lip nearly to his chin.

“ _Mierda!”_ he hisses, hand shooting up to cover the injury. Jack immediately jolts awake, shifting into a sitting position, shifting his hands from the butt to the shoulders.

“Holy shit!” Jack whispers harshly. He tries to move Gabe’s hand aside, to no affect, getting only a pained whimper. “Gabe, let go, let me see how bad.”

Reluctantly he drops his hand, and Jack takes a good look at the wound. Blood drips down his chin in sheets, and he cups his hand so that it doesn’t spill everywhere. The deepest groove is right on his lip, far shallower and less serious. Gabe doesn’t really look in pain, but the poor guy’s definitely panicking at the amount of blood spurting out of and into his mouth.

Jack tenderly rubs Gabe’s shoulder, distracting his lover while leaning over and digging through his forgotten duffle bag. He throws out three items of clothing and two other completely-indiscernible-in-the-dark things before finally getting his hands on ball of rags that he had tossed in without thinking. He brings them into Gabe’s field of vision without separating them, carefully moving aside his hand and pressing the rags against the cut.

“I’m gonna help you get dressed,” Jack says evenly. Though he seemed calm, he was beyond fucking panicked. “And then I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Gabe nods jerkily, feeling around for his shirt. Jack spots all of Gabe’s clothes in their spot from the night before immediately, and drags them over, carefully positioning Gabe’s shirt over his head. One arm at a time, they’re able to get it on. Jack is able to carefully worm on Gabe’s underwear by lifting his hips, and gets his pants on the same way. He vaults through the cab window, snatching the keys from off the passenger’s seat, and turns back to hand them to Gabe.

“Unlock the car and strap in, I’ll be there in a second,” he says, patting around for his own clothes. Gabe looks ahead, eyes wide and set deep in worry.

Jack stops what he’s doing, leans forward and presses a comforting kiss to Gabe’s cheek.

“It’ll be okay,” he murmurs. Gabe nods, opens the trunk door, and wobbles out on unsteady feet. Jack finds his clothes in record time, jerking the trunk around in an attempt to be timely. Accidentally, he knocks three shoes onto the gravel outside, and he feels bad that he sent Gabe away without getting his shoes. He jams his feet into his own, and scoops up Gabe’s sandals before closing the trunk and hopping into the cab.

He takes the keys from Gabe’s hand, shoves them in the ignition, bringing the truck to life with a rumble. Jack’s phone is somehow still in his shorts pocket, and he wriggles awkwardly to get it out and turn on the GPS. Gabe shivers in the passenger seat, the blood from his lip starting to show through the rags. With one hand Jack fiddles with his phone, with the other he kneads Gabe’s thigh, wishing he had something to say.

The address pops up the second he types in the world ‘hospital’. Jack grips Gabe’s thigh a little tighter before letting go to back out.

“We’ll be there soon, big guy, hang in there.”

Gabe nods again and closes his eyes, hands clamped down on rags.

* * *

“So, uh… My friend slammed his head into the window sill of my truck,” Jack nervously explains to the emergency room nurse. Gabe leans against him, heavily bloodied rag pressed against his lips. The nurse nods sagely. Two young men covered in hickies gracing her presence at four in the morning isn’t even the weirdest thing she’s seen in that shift.

“Follow me,” she says evenly, walking out of the nurse’s station and striding towards a small examination room.

First she gives Gabe two orange pills, brings him over to a sink, turns the tap on and gently maneuvers him under the stream, taking the rags from him and throwing them out. Jack nervously shivers a few feet away, watching every second, and the nurse laughs fondly.

“He’ll be fine. It’s not nearly as serious as you think,” she says, glancing at the clock. “There’s lots of blood vessels in the lip. Most of what came out’s just for show.”

Gabe makes a garbled noise under the water that sounds vaguely like a sigh. Jack snorts, relieved to hear normal Gabriel humor at work.

A few minutes pass, and the nurse lets Gabe stand up, Jack standing by with a paper towel to help him dry off. Gabe doesn’t take it, he just lets Jack dote on him with a stupid grin on his face. The nurse quietly laughs, enjoying the unfolding scene while prepares an antiseptic swab.

When he’s all dry, the nurse turns Gabe and gently dabs the cut with the swab. Gabe doesn’t flinch; he just stares lovingly at Jack like there’s no where he’d rather be.

“… Alright, you should be good,” she finally says, tossing the used swab in the trash. “Just keep it on ice for the next few days, maybe put some sunscreen on it if you don’t want it to scar.”

“Ice it?... With like an ice cube or something?” Jack asks. Gabriel takes his hand when he’s distracted, the pain medication obviously kicking in.

“Popsicles work great,” she says with a tired smile. “Come meet me up front when you’re ready, I need his medical card for records.”

She leaves the room, giving them a second of privacy. Gabe nudges Jack, eyes half lidded from exhaustion, but a warm grin lighting up his features.

“Jack?” he says, squeezing the other’s hand for emphasis.

“Yeah?” Jack responds, stroking Gabe’s palm.

“I love you,” he sighs, adoring. Jack laughs, and gently kisses the corner of his mouth.

* * *

The paperwork and copays took about an hour to get taken care of. When they’re back in the car, the sun is just beginning to peak over the horizon. Gabe settles into the passenger seat, and without another word, he falls asleep. Jack kisses his temple and starts the ignition, an idea brewing in the back of his head.

They drive in near-silence, Jack just enjoying the sunrise and listening to Gabe lightly snore. The sun perfectly illuminates his lover, bathing him in gold light, highlighting his handsome features, his cut, his scars…

Jack’s heart swells with something that feels a lot like love.

A few kilometers away from the hospital is a convenience store that Jack passed. He pulls into the parking lot slowly, one of the three other cars in the lot. He sits silently for a moment, just admiring Gabe, before another idea runs through his mind. After slipping his phone out of the GPS mount, he opens up the camera and snaps a quick picture of his sleeping beauty.

“Gabe?” He nudges his lover’s shoulder, getting an irritated grunt in return. “Wake up. I’m gonna get you a popsicle.”

“…. can I get a cherry?” Gabe grumbles, eyes not even open.

“Of course, bud.”

Jack isn’t quite sure what he heard, but it sounded suspiciously like a ‘yay’. They shamble out of the car together, and enter the store holding hands. Wandering to the back together, Jack rests his head on Gabe’s shoulder while he browses the selection.

“… You want one too?” Gabe mumbles, rubbing small circles into Jack’s back.

“Blue raspberry would be nice,” he says, closing his eyes for just a second. The cold from the freezer send a chill down Jack’s spine, but Gabe’s warm hand cuts it just a little. He wishes he could stay like that a little longer, but Gabe has already grabbed his hand and is starting to move away.

The popsicles are handed off to Jack when they get up to the register. Jack and the cashier exchange pleasantries and start passing off the stuff to ring up when Gabe tosses a box of condoms onto the counter. Cheeks hot, Jack glares at him but elects not to say anything. Gabe’s shit eating grin is enough to know that he’s feeling better, and for that, Jack’s at least grateful.

They walk out to watch the last minutes of the sunrise eating their popsicles, condoms in a little plastic bag. Jack looks over at Gabe, licking oddly around the tip to keep the ice on his cut, and that warm feeling rises in his chest again.

“Gabe?” he calls quietly, starry eyed.

“Mmhm?”

“I love you too, you big goof,” he says, nudging his shoulder. Gabe smiles and leans in for a kiss, which Jack readily shares.

**Author's Note:**

> this is totally based off of how i fell and banged up my knee today. scary at the time, but ultimately just a funny story in the end.  
> see you next time! <3


End file.
